Expanding marine protected areas to include degraded coral reefs

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a commonly applied solution to coral reef degradation, yet coral reefs continue to decline worldwide. We argue that expanding the range of MPAs to include degraded reefs (DR-MPA) could help reverse this trend. This approach requires new ecological criteria for

Ecosystem‐based management of coral reefs under climate change

“…There is increasing recognition that coral reef management has been unable to halt degradation, and that returning to “pristine” conditions is an unrealistic goal (Abelson et al., ; Burke et al., ; Hughes et al., ; Rinkevich, ), particularly in the context of changing environmental conditions. Conservation is moving away from this more traditional approach, as research seeks to provide conservation practitioners with a more diverse toolbox, including a range of indicators (Nash & Graham, ) and modelling frameworks (McClanahan et al., ).…”

“…Furthermore, MPAs are unlikely to be a cure‐all for coral reef conservation because they do not provide direct protection from external impacts such as sedimentation from land run‐off (Fabricius et al., ; Gilby, Maxwell, Tibbetts, & Stevens, ), and may only be effective at maintaining ecosystem services in reefs of high structural complexity (Rogers et al., ). Where structural complexity is lost, reefs are heavily degraded, climate change impacts are unpredictable and there is high reliance on reefs, MPAs will need to be combined with other management approaches (Abelson et al., ; Graham et al., ; Makino et al., ; Rogers et al., ).…”

“…There is increasing recognition that coral reef management has been unable to halt degradation, and that returning to "pristine" conditions is an unrealistic goal (Abelson et al, 2016;Burke et al, 2011;Hughes et al, 2017;Rinkevich, 2015), particularly in the context of changing environmental conditions. Conservation is moving away from this more traditional approach, as research seeks to provide conservation practitioners with a more diverse toolbox, including a range of indicators Destructive fishing practices such as blast (dynamite) and cyanide fishing, and destructive types of fishing gear, e.g., gill nets Destruction of reef structure and reduction in structural complexity, which is also driven by climate change Fox and Caldwell (2006), Graham et al (2006) and Burke et al (2011) Coral bleaching and mortality exacerbated by cyanide Jones and Hoegh-Guldberg (1999) and Burke et al (2011) Overfishing.…”

“…On degraded reefs, removal of human pressures may be insufficient to facilitate recovery to coral-dominated ecosystems, suggesting that active reef restoration may be necessary to maintain healthy ecosystems more resilient to climate change (Abelson et al, 2016;Adam et al, 2015;Rogers et al, 2015). Introducing artificial complexity to replace the lost habitat structures of low complexity reefs, for example due to acidification, has been successful at small scales such as in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea (Al-Horani & Khalaf, 2013;Rogers et al, 2015).…”

Tourist value orientations and conflicts at a marine protected area in Hawaii

“…The Professional Association of Dive Instructors, for example, has issued more than 25 million certifications since 1967 and averaged more than 900,000 diver certifications globally for each of the last 20 years (Professional Association of Dive Instructors, ). Participation in these activities can occur in coral reef areas, which are often threatened by anthropogenic stressors such as pollution, overfishing, global climate change, and ocean acidification (Abelson et al, ; Hoegh‐Guldberg et al, ; Sheppard, Davy, & Pilling, ; Wolff et al, ). Marine tourism can also cause biophysical impacts to coral reefs through factors such as physical contact, anchor damage, oil discharge, and untreated sewage from boats and coastal destinations (Ong & Musa, ; Saphier & Hoffmann, ).…”